Life Can Change When You Least Expect It
by Torchwood Cardiff
Summary: When Owen is left in charge of the Hub, he comes across a teeager that's been assauted. This fic contains sexual assault of a minor and graphic details of medical exams. Read at your own risk.
1. Attacked

"Stupid bleeding Weevils," Owen muttered under his breath. He and Jack were feeding the last inmate in the cells.

"Whatever," said Jack, not really listening.

There was a lot on his mind as the two men climbed back to the main level. He hated leaving Owen on his own while he and the others were away. Gwen was on sick leave, Toshiko at a UNIT conference and he and Ianto on an overdue visit to Archie in Scotland. He hoped the doctor would be able to cope. UNIT were on standby to assist as necessary and the Rift should be quiet but even so, it was a lot to expect of Owen. He took one last look round the office and grabbed his greatcoat. The others had already left, time he was off too.

"Call me if anything major kicks off," Jack said, standing by Owen's desk. "And use UNIT. I don't need a dead hero."

"I'll be all right. The Hub to myself for a week," Owen sighed, "bleeding marvellous." He was looking forward to it although aware of the responsibility on his shoulders. The only thing he was going to miss was Ianto's coffee.

"I'm out of here," Jack said.

Owen checked his watch: 18:20. "I'll come with you, get myself a coffee."

They left the Hub by the invisible lift and so missed seeing the group of teenage boys walking along the boardwalk by the water's edge. They were in the middle of a row which quickly turned onto a fight. Four of the teens against one. The victim suddenly found himself on the ground, being punched and kicked by the others. A blow to the head and heavy kicks to his lower abdomen and he was down and almost out. The others ran off, leaving the teenager in pain and barely conscious.

Or so they thought ...

As soon as the teenager heard them take off, he tried to pull himself up into a sitting position but had to stop. His belly and chest hurt too much. The most comfortable position was curled up lying on his side and he stayed that way. Reaching into a pocket, he realised his mobile was gone. It wasn't lying on the ground so one of the others must have nicked it. He swore. Lying there, in pain and woozy, he looked about for help but it was late at night and no one was around to help him. There was a door not far away and he struggled towards it, hoping someone was inside and would help him.

Owen wandered back to the Hub choosing the longer route by the water. He was almost at the Tourist Office when he heard nervous breathing and saw a dark shape huddled by the door. Owen pulled out a torch and shone it at the shape, other hand moving to his gun. As he did the shape moved and resolved itself into a body. Another drunk, he thought, relaxing.

He approached the body, recognising it as a teenage boy. "You okay, mate?" he asked. No response. "Can you hear me?" he asked, laying his hand on the boy's shoulder.

Suddenly the boy lashed out, nearly hitting Owen.

Owen quickly blocked it. "Oi! You can cut that out for a start." The kid jerked his head up, cowering back as Owen went to touch him again. "Great, I try to help you and you're still scared." Owen could see the boy had been in a fight. No wonder you're frightened, kid.

"Who are you?" the teen asked, eyeing him nervously.

"Doctor Owen Harper. Who are you?" He crouched down beside him.

The kid took a few deep breaths before answering. "James Collins." He swallowed hard. "Think I'm gonna be —" James was fighting a loosing battle and spewed up. Owen danced back out of the way.

"Bleeding hell, could have warned me!" complained Owen, looking down at his boots which had been spattered. "Right, better get you to A&E."

"No!" James cried out and tried to get up.

Owen grabbed him. "Careful, you could be hurt inside."

"I don't care what you do, just don't take me to hospital!" James was on the verge of a panic attack.

"All right, kid," Owen said, "all right. Look, if you've got a thing about it, we'll go inside. See what I can do to patch you up." He was stuck here on his own for another few hours so he might as well see what was wrong with the kid. He could always give him Retcon when he had finished.

James gulped, wincing in pain. "I'm fine." He tried to stand up.

"Yeah, I can see that," Owen replied sarcastically. "It's no skin of my nose. Go ahead and bleed to death." He stood up and moved towards the Tourist Office door.

James tried to stand but the pain in his belly forced him back to his knees. He wasn't going to be able to walk and needed this man's help. "Okay. Okay, I'd like your help," he admitted.

"First bit of sense I've heard all evening."

Owen helped the teen to his feet and they entered the Tourist Office. James was in too much pain to take in the secret door, the stone corridor and journey down in the lift to the underground Hub. Even the huge cavern didn't attract his attention, he just went where Owen led him. Only when they had climbed to the work area and he saw TORCHWOOD written in tiles on the wall about a tatty couch did he react. He pulled away from Owen's supporting arm and staggered back, bumping into Toshiko's desk which is all that kept him on his feet.

"No! Not Torchwood." He looked round wildly, seeing the Hub for the first time.

"What?" asked Owen, surprised.

"Is this … Torchwood? No, no …" He crumpled to the floor, hurting and more afraid than he'd ever been in his life.

Owen stared at him. What the hell was going on? How the heck did this kid know about Torchwood? There's nothing in public about it, Tosh and Ianto make sure of that. He decided to ignore it for now. The kid was hurt and needed treatment. Besides, he'd forget it all when he took the Retcon.

"I don't have time for this, James. Get up and let's have a look at you." He reached down and pulled the boy to his feet. James did not stop him, the fight had gone out of him completely, and sat quietly on the couch. Owen quickly examined the boy, finding extensive bruising on his chest and abdomen but it wasn't so bad. He wasn't in imminent danger. "You took quite a beating but I think you'll be okay. How about I make a cup of tea and you tell me what happened?"

James did not reply. His fear was so strong the only way he could cope with it was by retreating into himself, pretending this was not happening to him. He was in so much trouble, and not just from this doctor.

Owen took the lack of response as agreement and headed over to the kitchen that Ianto kept well stocked and put the kettle on. Once the tea was made he headed back over to the couch and handed a mug to James. The coffee he had gone to buy had been abandoned somewhere, so Owen had made himself tea as well. He sat on the couch and sipped it

"I was looking forward to a nice calm week. Didn't need you dropping in. So, you want to tell me what happened?" Owen asked.

"A group of us came down to Cardiff from London, on the train. I only really knew one of the guys, from school. Anyway, they wanted to wreck the one of the statues for a laugh but I said we shouldn't. There's CCTV everywhere, we'd be caught. They called me chicken and stuff and then they just started on me. I've not been at this school long, don't know that many people. Guess I picked the wrong ones to try and be friends with." James shrugged before wincing.

"Some kids are idiots!" Owen murmured before another thought came to him. "So, why you so against going to hospital?"

James shifted about nervously, looking at the floor. "Don't want my mum and dad to find out I went there."

Owen knew the kid was hiding something and had a good idea what it might be. A few of the bruises that littered his chest were old. "It'd be better if you did. That was quite a beating you took."

James' head shot up. "No, please. You can't take me there. I'll be fine, honest." His eyes pleaded to be understood.

Owen took a deep breath. "James, what's going on? Why are you terrified? Of me and of going to hospital? Your parents won't mind. You're hurt, they'd be more worried about that."

"No. No, they really won't. They'll probably kill me. If I ever get out of here." James stared into his mug and spoke softly.

"You are really confusing me. What do you mean if you get out of here?" Owen asked.

James looked Owen in the eye saying, "You're Torchwood. You're going to lock me up and experiment on me."

Alarm bells were ringing in Owen's head as he looked at James. This kid really believes what he's saying. Owen was starting to think he had got into something much bigger than just helping a kid in trouble. "Oh yeah? Since you seem to know about Torchwood, what do you think we do exactly?" Owen smirked.

James looked up again. "According to Mum, you capture aliens and that so that you can learn their secrets and do experiments on them to find out about them," he said in a flat, resigned tone.

"Really? So you an alien then?"

James closed his eyes, a tear escaping and sliding down his face. "No. We're from the future, the end of the century. We were on our way to our new home when our ship was pulled into the Rift. The ship was damaged and we ended up outside London. Dad triggered the self destruct and we ran and hid. We've been hiding ever since. Mum warned me that if I ever got caught Torchwood would experiment on me because I'm from the future. And I'm not supposed to get involved with people in authority."

Owen closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Why did this have to happen when I'm here alone? He moved and sat on the coffee table in front of James, looking directly at him. "I'm going to be honest with you, so listen up. If it was Torchwood London that had found you, then you might have been right but they're gone. This is Torchwood Cardiff which is totally different. We try and protect non-hostile aliens and people like you, plucked out of your time. We don't experiment on people. Don't get me wrong, if someone tried to attack this planet we'd fight them, kill 'em if we have to. Providing you mean this planet no harm, James, we'll try to help you, not lock you up."

The teenager looked up, hope in his eyes. "You mean that? You really won't lock me up?"

"Not unless you're planning on taking over the world, then no, I won't lock you up," smiled Owen. "However, this does complicate things. You need to be looked at properly, get your injuries treated but maybe hospital's not such a good choice. Who knows how your body's evolved. But before I decide anything, I need more information so I can check what you say is true and then I need to call my boss."

Over the next few minutes, Owen obtained details of James' parents and the date they had been drawn through the Rift. Then he checked it all on the databases, confirming all the boy had told him. He was truthful, at least so far. It was time to check in with Jack and he didn't want to do that in front of James. The boy was dozing on the couch when Owen headed into the office to phone Jack who was on the road headed for Glasgow.

"Jack, I got a bit of a situation here." Owen explained about James, his injuries and the story he had been told. They discussed it for a few minutes and decided the boy should stay in the Hub where he would be safe. Owen preferred not to examine and treat him when alone – there could be an emergency – and agreed to call Toshiko for help. Talking to her, he found she was in the middle of an important conference session and they decided to wait until the morning when she would come in early. Owen left the office.

James was squirming a bit on the couch. "Dr. Harper, I need the toilet. I'm desperate." He was clearly embarrassed.

"Call me Owen, and of course you can use the loo. I'll show you."

Owen led the way to the toilets, up one flight of stairs, and went back to the work area. He checked another couple of points of James' story. Ten minutes later Owen was wondering where James was when he staggered down the stairs, doubled up. He was white as a sheet and shaking with pain. "Oh, just what I needed," Owen sighed. "Okay, let's get you down to my med bay and see what's wrong." James could only groan with pain. Owen helped him across the work area and into the medical bay, lying him on the examination table. "All right. I need to take a look, so I need you to -"

Suddenly James sat up, fear on his face. "You have cameras," he yelped, looking up at the small lenses in the corners of the room.

"We have them all over the Hub," Owen said, confused. "Why?"

"Can you turn them off? Please. I don't like people watching me," James replied in a shaky voice.

"James, they need to stay on. It protects you and me."

"No. Turn them off!"

Bloody hell, this kid's going to be the death of me. "Okay, if it'll make you happy I'll turn off the cameras." He made a show of doing so but actually left them on. Years of training told him he should have some record of the examination – doctors could be accused of all sorts of malpractice when alone with a patient – and there was his own safety to consider. He was alone with this kid who could turn out to be not as harmless as he looked. The camera feed was being sent to Toshiko, just in case.

James was curled up on the table when Owen came back to him. "Okay, kid, let's have a look at you. I was going to wait a bit but I don't think we can, do you?"

"It hurts. It hurts real bad." James whimpered in pain.

"Sit up a bit and get your top and jeans off." Owen helped the boy. "Lie back."

James did as he was told and Owen put on gloves and gently felt around his abdomen, looking for the source of the pain. He had plenty of scanners and other alien tech but still preferred the preliminary examination to be hands-on, he could tell so much more that way. When James cried out and looked as if he would throw up, Owen grabbed a dish. He held it while James threw up then disposed of the contents. He thrust the dish back at James.

"Use it if you feel the need. I'm pretty sure your bladder and kidneys have been bruised by those punches you took. I'll set up an IV and give you a painkiller."

Again James just nodded. His eyes were tightly shut against the pain. Owen swabbed James' arm and inserted the IV in one efficient motion. He hung the bag of paracetamol and adjusted the drip rate and as it started to work saw James relax. "Better?" Owen asked.

"Yes."

"Good." Owen stepped back away from the table and rubbed the edge of his jaw with a callused thumb. Spotting a bit of mottled flesh nearly hidden by James stiff right arm his eyes narrowed. "James, can you sit up for me? I want to check your kidneys." Owen helped James to sit forward and then gently tapped his back over the area where the right kidney would be, James hissed in pain.

"Sorry," Owen moved to tap the left side. There was no bruising and James didn't flinch when Owen touched the skin. "I'm not sure if it is the bruising that's causing you the pain or if it's your kidneys. When you went to the loo did you empty your bladder?"

"Not completely." James looked embarrassed but sounded anxious. "It was red, he admitted after a pause. Might have been blood."

"That's what I thought," Owen replied. "I'll insert a catheter. We need to drain your bladder."

James looked horrified. "No way!"

"Fine. You're the one in pain. No skin of my nose if it just gets worse." He sat back, waiting for James to see sense. As he watched, James expression changed from horror to fear to resignation.

"What will you do?" asked James.

"Something that sounds a lot worse than it is. Basically, I put a tube into your penis. Just a few inches, not all the way. It might hurt as your urethra is swollen but no more than a bit of discomfort which the painkillers will take care of."

James closed his eyes and swallowed. "All right, get on with it."

Owen grabbed a gown from one of the drawers and helped James put it on. "Take off your boxers."

James nodded and did so as Owen washed his hands and pulled on gloves.

James kept his eyes shut, unwilling to see what Owen was doing and in embarrassment. He had never had a doctor look at him … down there before and he was dreading it. If he kept his eyes closed he could pretend it was happening to someone else.

"Right, let's get started," said Owen. Usually for him, he kept on talking. His bedside manner had never been great and since joining Torchwood had almost completely disappeared, but this boy had aroused his sympathy and Owen was willing to work at making him comfortable. "I've done these loads of times, had them done to me too. Not the nicest procedure, I admit, but necessary." By now urine was flowing down the tube and into the collection bag. It had quite a bit of blood in it. "There, done. Bladder's draining nicely. How are you feeling?" Owen replaced the sheet.

"Better," James answered. "How long … does it stay in?"

"For the rest of the night." He snapped of his gloves and threw them away. "You got a GP?" he asked.

"Yeah. Seen her once or twice. Don't like going if I can avoid it. Would prefer a man but Mum and Dad said no."

"What's her name and address? I need to take a butchers at your records before I do anything else. James provided the details though he couldn't remember the exact address of the health centre.

Owen jotted them down, made sure James was comfortable and turned to his computer. Something was wrong. It should have been simple for James to move to another doctor within the practice if he'd wanted to – and it wasn't surprising a teenage boy would prefer a male doctor – so why had his parents stopped him? They were definitely trying to hide something and Owen didn't think it was just the fact they were from the future. There were those old bruises that had yet to be explained.

He quickly hacked into the health centre's files; Toshiko had set it all up for him ages ago. He found James' record and scanned it quickly groaning softly when he read the boy had been diagnosed with Iatrophobia - a fear of doctors - and nosocomephobia - the fear of hospitals. Oh, this is just brilliant. It certainly explained James earlier panic about going to hospital but that might also be partly fear of being identified as different. Owen hadn't seem much of the Iatrophobia but the boy had been in too much pain to care. Owen knew he'd have to tread carefully when treating this boy.

"Just going to get something," he said vaguely and left the medical bay. James didn't respond, already dozing. In the office, Owen used his mobile to call Toshiko.

"Poor kid," she said when Owen had explained the position. "Still want me to come over in the morning?"

"Yeah. But don't tell him I left the cameras on whatever you do. He freaked out when he saw them."

"Of course I won't. But you did right, for you and him." Toshiko was surprised Owen was worried about lying to James. Normally he wouldn't have cared less which made her keen to meet the boy that was having this effect. As soon as her meeting was over, she intended to review the footage.

Owen headed back to medical bay. He had to ask James about the older bruises but was not looking forward to it. They had established some trust and Owen didn't want to lose it. On the other hand, his training was telling him to pursue it, that is was important. James was still asleep when Owen came down the stairs. It was amazing how young he looked without all of the worry and strain on his face. Poor kid. Owen grabbed his stool and moved it beside the bed. The noise woke James and the strain immediately showed in his face. This is going to be hard.

"How are you feeling?" Owen asked.

"Still sore. My stomach and ribs mostly."

"You took a pretty good bashing, mate. But some of those bruises aren't from today. I can tell. Where did they come from?" Owen watched the boy closely.

James couldn't look Owen in the eye. He was silent for a while but eventually said, "Sometimes, when I do something stupid, Dad gets mad. He's under a lot of pressure," he added in a rush. "He has to keep us safe and do his job. It's not easy."

Owen had to fight to keep his anger under control. He wanted to find this kid's parents and beat the crap out of them. "No matter how much pressure your father is under, he shouldn't hit you. It's not right. It's never right. We all do stupid things sometimes, James, especially when we're fourteen years old like you are. You're expected to make mistakes."

"He doesn't mean to hurt me. He can't cope, that's all."

"Lashing out at kids is not going to help him!" Owen paused, taking a deep breath. "Look, I know he's your dad but what he's done to you is child abuse. You understand?" James nodded, eyes fixed on the ceiling. "Okay. We'll think about that later. Right now I want to take a look at your kidneys, see what shape they're in."

James was relieved that someone had figured out what Dad had been doing and that it might be possible to make him stop. He hated being at home when Dad was in one of his moods and often stayed out to avoid him and what happened after the beating. Nevertheless, it was his dad who had looked after them all so well after they'd crashed and James felt he was betraying him for admitting what had happened. It was all so difficult. He realised Owen was waiting for a reply. He glanced at this doctor and wondered why Owen didn't make him feel as nervous and uncomfortable as the other GP. And he was Torchwood. James should be running from him but actually felt safer with him than with his parents.

"Go ahead. Do what you have to do," James said finally.

Relieved, Owen brought the ultra sound machine to the bedside. James went a bit paler. Looks like he does suffer from a bit of Iatrophobia and that's going to make things just that bit harder.

"This is an ultrasound machine. It'll let me look at your kidneys." James eyed him with deep suspicion and some fear. "I'm guessing from your expression you've never had a scan like this before. Or seen one done?"

"Um, nope," James replied in a worried voice.

"This one is completely painless. It uses sound waves. All you have to do it lie still. With a bit of lubricating gel I run this probe over your belly. Kinda like painting with a roller," he added with a smile. "The probe emits sound waves through the skin and muscles and these waves are then turned into an image that appears on the monitor."

"Sonics. We had those back home." James didn't look nearly as worried as before.

Owen turned on the machine and, as it was booting up, warmed the jelly as best he could. "Time for the gel," he announced. He lifted the gown and spread the gel over James' abdomen.

James squeaked. "It's freezing!"

Owen grinned. "Sorry." Owen sat down on the stool and twisted round until he could move the probe and see the screen at the same time. A picture of James' right kidney started to appear on the screen. "Umm, looks a bit swollen but I'll know for sure when we've looked at your other one. Blood is flowing round it nicely, so I think it's just the bruising and a bit of trauma that was causing the blood in your urine. Now for the left kidney." Owen repeated the scan on the left kidney which didn't show much swelling and was functioning well.

"That's pretty cool," said James. He could also see the screen.

"Your right kidney is definitely a bit swollen and bruised but I think it'll heal up just fine on its own," Owen shut off the machine and moved it out of the way. "There's something else we need to talk about. Your dad caused all these old bruises, you told me that before. Was that all he did?" He feared there had been sexual abuse too but didn't want to ask outright, a roundabout approach might work better.

"What do you mean?" James looked away, unable to meet the doctor's gaze.

"I mean he's obviously under a lot of stress and he's taken it out on you." Owen kept his voice level, unwilling to show the disgust he felt. "Back when I was in London, I helped out at a teen drop in centre. Saw bruises like this on a few kids who'd been abused by their fathers. They'd been sexually abused too. Have you?"

Owen sat back and waited for a response. The question had been asked, it was up to James to decide how and if he would respond. All Owen knew was that he'd have to tread very carefully because if he was right, James could even more traumatised if he was pushed too far too fast. What a nightmare.


	2. Finding out the truth

_**I realise that normally a minor would never be examined without the presence of a guardian, nurse or other suitable person. However, this is a work of fiction and not real life. This story is intended to be portrayed in a medical manner.**_

_**Warning: This chapter contains potentially sensitive subject matter related to the male reproductive system and the effects of sexual abuse are discussed.**_

_**I have made some of the events rushed, but I think it works. Owen could have given James something to speed up the healing process. **_

* * *

><p>The silence went on a long time. Owen drew on all his reserves of patience and sat waiting for James to respond. As he waited, Owen remembered the months he had helped out at the Hackney Youth Centre, a combined social club and counselling centre, cajoled by Katie into volunteering to provide medical advice and exams. He had not wanted to do it. The kids, the boys especially, had reminded him of his teenage years with an uncaring mother. She had not physically abused him but had found plenty of other ways to make his life bad. The kids he had seen at the centre had mainly wanted advice about sexual health but among those had been a smattering of abused boys. One in particular would always stay with him. Glen Horton. He had been the same age as James and even looked a bit like him. Glen had been abused by an uncle. A few days after telling Owen, Glen had jumped into the Thames and drowned. Owen was determined James would not end the same way.<p>

James shuffled around on the examination table, head down and looking anywhere but at Owen. He was embarrassed and ashamed. He had already told this doctor too much. But he wanted to confide in someone about his situation, the secrets were weighing him down. Having admitted to being on Earth out of his time, did it make any difference to tell about the abuse? Loyalty to his father, who had protected the family this far, still made him hesitate.

"James, I don't know what I can say to convince you to trust me but I have no intention of harming you. I only want what's best for you." Owen waited.

"It's not easy," began James haltingly.

"I know. And I'm not asking for chapter and verse. But if your dad – or anyone – made you do anything you didn't want to do, he's the one who did wrong. Not you, James, not you." Owen paused then continued. "I'm not that interested in the details, only in the physical damage it might have done to you. The blows that left those bruises could have damaged your internal organs. If there was intercourse, there could be other more serious injuries. Maybe they don't hurt now but untreated they'll cause problems later."

James winced, remembering past hurts. He took a deep breath and said, "He did ... force me to ... to have sex with him. Only a few times!" he added defensively.

Owen let out a breath. He had been right and James had been brave enough to admit it. "Hey, kid, I know the guts it took for you to say that. Well done. It probably doesn't help much, but you're not the only kid who's ever been abused like this and, unfortunately, you'll not be the last."

James had his eyes closed, tears running down his face. His father had told him to keep it a secret but he was so tired of carrying the burden. He needed help and he liked this doctor. In a rush of words, he said, "Dad he, um, made me do it. I didn't want to, not at first. But he's Dad and he said it was all right. Said it was something all dads did with their sons. I believed him!" James wiped at his tears and blew his nose before continuing. "When I found out he was lying, when I tried to stop him, he ... he held me down and forced me. He forced me to have sex with him."

James continued to cry and Owen let him, feeding him tissues as they were needed. When the boy had recovered a little, Owen said, "I'm sorry, James. Really I am. No kid should be treated like that. No one. Your dad was wrong to do what he did. You understand that?"

"I think so." James glanced at Owen, relieved to see the doctor meant what he said. "I tried telling Mum but she didn't want to know. I felt so alone." The tears started again and James brushed them away impatiently.

"I've seen that happen before too. But you're not alone now. I'm on your side, James. Sometime you need to talk to someone who'll help you understand what happened to you and make you feel better about yourself. A counsellor or someone. But only when you feel ready."

"Can't I talk to you?" he asked.

"I'm not qualified. You need someone who'll do a better job than I can. I know a few people, we'll find the right one for you. But not now. Right now I need to check you out for physical damage. I need to check your genitals and do a rectal exam. You're being so brave, mate, but I need you to be brave a bit longer for me and let me make sure he hasn't caused long-term damage," Owen explained. "Can you do that?"

James was shaking and very pale as he listened to Owen but eventually gave a nervous nod.

"Good. I'll explain everything I'm going to do and we'll do it at your pace. If you need a break we'll stop, okay? I know you've never had anything like this done before but don't worry everyone gets a bit nervous. I've done this loads of times and I could tell you some tales." He paused, noticing how James was still shaking and thought better of continuing down that road. "But I won't because doctors don't talk about their patients. Right?" He smiled at James. "People have to be examined for lots of different reasons, you know. Not just abuse. I'm just going to lower the table back down so I can examine you properly."

As Owen lowered the back of the table, James' trembling increased and his breathing became faster and shallower. _Damn it. I wish it wasn't under these circumstances that the poor kid has to have this done._

"James, you're okay, try and take slow deep breaths. You're fine and you're in my lab and you're safe," Owen tried to reassure James. He sat down again on his stool so he wasn't towering over James. "Are you ready to continue?" Owen asked, once James' breathing had slowed.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I don't know what's wrong with me," James replied in a shaky voice.

"It's partly your phobias and partly because of what you've been through, anyone who's been through what you have would be a bit shaky and nervous, it's totally understandable," Owen reassured James.

James gulped and nodded

"Okay James, I'm going to have a look now and all I'm going to do is gently feel around to make sure there's no swelling or lumps that shouldn't be there," Owen explained, putting on a fresh pair of gloves. "What I need you to do is just try to take deep even breaths just like what you're doing now.

James did his best to do as Owen asked.

"That's it, just keep taking deep slow breaths," Owen soothed, moving the sheet and lifted James' gown up to his hips. "If anything I'm doing hurts or is uncomfortable in anyway tell me." Owen started to examine James pelvic region, gently feeling around for problems and injuries.

James was very tense and winced as Owen came in contact with an injured area. "That hurts," he gasped.

"I'm sorry," Owen replied. "I'm just checking to make sure there's no bleeding or anything. You're doing really well, almost done now," Owen soon finished and covered James back up with the sheet, tossed the gloves in the bin and washed his hands. "There's some bruising from where you were kicked. But we'll just have to keep an eye on that, all right?"

James slowly nodded his head.

_He's still pretty white and shaky. I know I'm going to have to be careful and make the rectum exam as professional as I can without seeming cold and uncaring._

"James, I'm going to do the rectal exam now to look for any damage," Owen said.

James glanced at Owen the fear back in his eyes and his breathing was increasing. "What kind of damage?"

In his best detached, professional voice, Owen answered. "Because the sex was forced it could have caused an anal fissure, a cut or tear in the anus which is where a stool passes through out of the body. The cut or tear can extend upwards into the anal canal. It can cause the internal anal sphincter muscle to spasm which means that there is an involuntary contraction of the sphincter muscle. It could, if left untreated, lead to the fissure becoming infected which would make you pretty ill," Owen explained.

"Would I know if I had one of those?" James asked worriedly.

"Most common symptom is pain during and following bowel movements. Bleeding, itching, and sometimes discharge. You got any of those?"

"Umm …" James looked away.

"I take it you have. You tell your parents – anyone - about it?"

"Not really," James replied. "I told Mum it was sore going to the toilet. She told me not to worry about it, everyone gets pain now and again."

Owen clenched his teeth in anger. _What kind of parents were these two!_ "Your mum's wrong, James. It should never hurt to empty your bowels." He paused to contain his anger. "Okay, this is what I'm going to do. I want you lying on your left side, with your knees up to your chest. I'll have a look on the outside first. Then I'll slip a finger into your rectum through the anus and palpate the inside. Not for long, a minute, no more, checking for bleeding and sores." Owen made it sound as clinical as he could.

"Okay," James took a deep breath and nodded. "Will this hurt?"

"I'll be as gentle as I can. It might be a bit uncomfortable but it shouldn't hurt," Owen explained.

James nodded. Owen grabbed a new pair of gloves and the tube of lubricant. "What's that?" James pointed to the tube in Owen's hand.

"It's just lubricant. Makes my finger slip in easier." Owen handed James the tube to look at.

"It feels pretty cold," James replied dubiously.

"It'll warm up quickly, don't worry," Owen smiled. "You ready, James?"

James gulped. "Yeah."

"Turn onto your left side and bring your knees up to your chest." James did as he was asked. "Good," Owen said. "Let's have a look."

James tensed as he felt Owen examine him.

"Easy," Owen said softy. He grabbed the tube of lubricate and opened the cap.

James flinched as he heard the tube being opened. "What was that?" he gasped.

"Just opened the tube. Gawd, you really have got to trust me," Owen answered, putting some on his right index finger. "You all right?"

James gulped. "Yes."

"I'm going to insert my finger," Owen warned. "Take a deep breath, James."

James did and Owen slowly started to insert his finger. James tensed up, making it hard for Owen to get his finger in fully without hurting the boy.

"Look, mate, I know that it's uncomfortable. But it will go easier for you if you can relax." Owen said calmly. "Take some deep breaths again."

James took some deep breaths and slowly started to relax. Owen was able to insert his finger all the way and palpate the inside of the rectum. "Okay." Owen slowly withdrew his finger. "It's as I suspected. You have quite a large anal fissure and it's infected. That's what is causing the pain and the bleeding when you empty your bowels." Owen tossed the gloves and washed his hands.

James looked worried. "What does that mean?" he asked in a small voice.

"Well sometimes the fissures can heal on their own," Owen explained, "or with medication. But given your age and the size of the fissure, it's going to need an operation to fix it …"

James started to panic and spoke quickly. "I can't go to hospital. They'd talk to my dad and then he'd know I'd talked. He'd kill me. He really would. He said if I ever told anyone he really would kill me. He means it. He's really scary when he's mad."

"James," Owen said gently but firmly, "James, try to calm down. Just try and breathe ..."

"I can't just can't don't want it can't go to h-h-h-hospital," James was hyperventilating now.

Owen took James' chin to turn him to face him. "Look at me, James," he ordered, "and stop this nonsense." James glanced at Owen with fear, still fighting to breathe."Deep breaths, kid. In, out, in . . ." Owen tried to get him do the same breathing pattern that he was doing but it wasn't working.

"Can't . . ." James gasped, unable to copy Owen actions. Owen knew that he didn't have very long before he passed out.

"It's okay James, everything will be okay," Owen gave up on the breathing and reached for the syringe he'd prepared earlier. The boy had to be sedated. He injected it into James arm.

James slumped down on the bed, the sedative taking effect.

_What the heck did I get myself into?_

Owen tossed the syringe and gloves in the red bin and after making sure James was okay, he went upstairs to phone Jack. Jack picked up quickly even though it was quite late. Owen explained everything that had happened including the abuse, telling Jack all he had done. Jack could be trusted not to betray a confidence. Owen asked if Tosh could still come over to assist in the surgery. Jack agreed and left it to Owen to explain what was going on. Returning to the autopsy bay, James was starting to wake up. Owen quickly headed down the steps, took the oxygen mask off James and sat down in the chair the bed. James blinked as he slowly came round.

"Welcome back. You feeling a bit calmer?" Owen asked, reaching for his wrist.

James tensed as Owen pressed his fingers to feel his pulse. "You drugged me."

"Yeah, I had to," Owen explained, letting go of his wrist after sixty seconds. "You were having a panic attack. If I'd let you'd carry on I'd have had to take you to hospital and I know you don't want that." He thought the threat might help make James cooperate. "And before you start again, I'm _not _going to send you to hospital if I can help it. Right?"

James nodded.

Owen nodded. "Okay then. I presume that you haven't had an operation in this time?"

James shook his head. "I had my appendix out when I was younger."

"What do you remember about it, James?" Owen asked.

"I remember my stomach really hurting and being sick and my Grandma taking me to the hospital. They used a hyper spray and I went to sleep and when I woke up my stomach didn't hurt and I went home."

"You don't have a scar," Owen pointed out, regulating James IV line.

"No I don't," James said. "They used some kind of laser thing that seals the wound, it's not like now where they stitch you up and you have to be careful - I was back to normal straight away. I loved it. No pain, no needles and the best part was no throwing up. I was able to do whatever I wanted to." James sighed. "What's it like now, Owen?"

"A heck of a lot more primitive! I'll hook you up to the monitors, give you oxygen through a mask and inject the drug into your cannula so you'll fall asleep. Then I'll put a tube down your throat to help you breathe while you're unconscious."

James nodded, a fascinated and yet appalled expression on his young face. "Then what?"

"Well, once you're out, I can start the surgery," Owen said. "When the surgery is over, I'll give the reversal drug and you'll slowly start to wake up. I'll give you morphine and antibiotics through the IV so you'll not be in pain. You would normally be able to go home the next day but seeing I'm stuck here watching the Rift, you'll stay here with me." He had been planning to go home at night with the portable rift monitor but he couldn't take James with him.

"Have you ever gotten anything?" James asked "Has the alarm ever gone off when it's just been you?"

"No. But that was only for seventy-two hours. Not a whole week," Owen explained. "So we'll stay here until you're comfortable sitting. Then you can come back to my place until you completely heal. That will give us time to figure out what's best for you. But don't worry, I'll make sure you're safe." Owen assured him, checking his watch. "Right it's 00:30 am. I think we both should get some shut eye. Early start tomorrow. Tosh says she'll be here about 7:00 so it'll be up at 6:00 for you. Because of your needle phobia, I'm going to give you a pre-med. It'll make you a bit sleepy but it'll help you relax and keep your heart rate down."

"What's that?" James asked.

"Pre-med or pre-medication to give it it's full name is just medicine in a pill or liquid form that will help keep you calm and stop your body panicking about the needles," Owen said, standing up.

"Okay," James said, slowly standing up.

Owen took James to one of the care rooms near the med bay. James sat on the bed, looking around the room. "Nice. Um, so what have you got to do to me?"

"Well basically I need to clear out the infection and make a small incision in the sphincter muscle to stop it spasming so the fissure can have a chance to heal cleanly - then we just have to keep the wound clean and make sure no infection sets in again to stop it healing. That's why it'll need cleaned and dressed daily," Owen explained.

"Okay," James said.

"I'll either be in my lab or in the room next door if you need me - remember your fasting so nothing to eat or drink. Good night James," Owen said, then walked out of the room, turning off the light.

"Night Owen," James said.

James took off the blankets and got under the covers, thinking over the days events. He was a bit stunned at how everything had changed so suddenly and wondered what the future would bring.

He must have drifted off to sleep because the next thing James knew he was waking to Owen calling his name and gently shaking him.

James blinked.

"Morning," Owen said, resting his hand on James shoulder, "It's 6:00 am."

"It's morning already?" James asked,

"You were exhausted yesterday, it's little wonder that you were out like a light," Owen said. "The swelling in your bladder should of had time to go down, so we should get the catheter out before you go for a shower."

"Um, okay," James replied.

"Right, lets get this catheter out. Don't worry it won't hurt and should only take a sec." Owen laid a pad on the bed. "Slide down until your hips are on this." he directed.

James nodded, laying back on the pad.

Owen pulled up James gown, then cleaned the balloon port of the catheter, then deflated it. "You'll feel a bit of pressure. Deep breath, James."

As James inhaled, Owen gently removed it. "It's out," he said, covering James up and then taking the catheter, pad and disposing of them in the bin.

"Okay?" Owen asked, giving James an antibiotic injection to prevent an infection from the catheter.

"Yeah, that wasn't too bad, really."

"Come on then, I'll show you where you can have a shower."

Owen led James to the shower room. "When you're done put this gown on and use this one to cover your back. I'll give you the pre-med when your finished so just come back to your room."

James nodded.

Once James was back in the room Owen came in and handed James a pill with a small glass of water. "Right James. If you need to go to the loo before I come and get you, push this button as I don't want you getting up on your own once that pre-med kicks in." Owen pointed out the call button. "Tosh shouldn't be long and we'll get set up."

Thirty minutes later James was dozing on the bed when Owen and Tosh came in.

"Hey James. How are you feeling?" Owen asked, checking his vitals.

"Okay."

"James, this is Tosh my friend and colleague," Owen introduced them.

"Hi James," Tosh said. "I'm going to be helping Owen with your surgery."

"Hi." James slowly sat up.

"Right James," Owen said gently "You ready?"

James nodded.

Owen and Tosh walked James to the medical bay.

"Okay James. Get on the bed and lie down." Owen said.

James did, looking at Owen as he pulled on gloves.

"I'm going to hook you up to the monitors now." Owen lifted up James gown, making sure the blanket stayed round his waist. "Tosh is going to put a mask over your mouth, take some nice deep breaths for me. I'm going to start the anaesthetic now. You should start to feel sleepy any minute now," Owen injected the drug into the IV port line.

James' eyes started to close. . .

He awoke sometime later to the feel of oxygen softly blowing on him and the soft beeping of a monitor.

"What . . .?" James gulped, squinted at the bright lights of the medical bay. He felt like he was going to throw up.

"Hey," Owen said softly, moving the oxygen tube away from James face.

James gasped then retched.

Owen quickly held a convenience bag over his mouth.

James promptly throw up into it.

"Are you finished?" Owen asked a few minutes later after he'd thrown up some more.

James nodded.

Owen took it, washed his mouth off with a wet cloth and tossed them in the red bin. Then washed his hands.

"How . . .?" James blinked.

"Everything went fine and I managed to clean out the infection and repair the damage. You gave us a little scare as your temperature and blood pressure dropped a bit. But you're fine now and I'm here to keep an close eye on you. You did well." Owen smiled.

James felt his eyes closing again. . .

Owen was sitting at the table in the care room filling out a report when he heard James stir again. He got up to check on him.

"Hey James. How are you feeling?" Owen asked.

"A bit sore and my throat hurts," James answered, looking around he saw that he was in the care room.

"Your throat is sore because of the tube that was there to help you breathe. It'll pass soon. How's the pain? On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being no pain and 10 being the worst pain you have ever felt?"

James thought for a minute. "Um, seven. I think."

"That's quite high - I'll increase your morphine a bit and give you an anti-sickness injection as it was the morphine that was making you feel sick earlier. I'm just going to check your vitals now," Owen said.

"Okay."

"James, do you need the loo? You've had quite a lot of fluid through the IV." Owen noticed.

"Er, yeah."

"Okay I'll just disconnect your IV for a second and help you to the loo," Owen disconnected the IV and helped James up.

James staggered a bit, glad that Owen was supporting him.

"Who I'm a bit dizzy and wobbly," James said.

"It's okay James," Owen assured him, "that's just the effects of the anesthetic. Don't worry, it's perfectly normal. I'll help you."

Once back from the toilet. Owen reconnected the IV and settled James back in bed. "Okay James. I'm just going to nip to my lab to get the morphine and the anti-emetic drug."

"The what?"

"The anti-emetic - the anti-sickness drug," Owen said.

"Oh right," James said.

Owen returned a few minutes later with the drugs in hand.

"Right James. The morphine goes in your IV and the other one in your thigh," Owen injected the morphine into the IV bag and then gave James the injection into his thigh.

"Ouch, but thank you," James said. "What time is it?"

"About 20:25. Here, have some water." Owen handed James a cup. "It'll make your throat feel better, I'll be checking on you through out the night but you'll most likely sleep through it, I'd imagine."

James settled back down on his side and drifted back off to sleep.

The next morning around 9:00 am, James woke to the smell of Toast, his mouth watered. He was starving he realised.

Owen came through the door. "Morning! I figured you might be up for a bit of breakfast. How does toast and tea sound?"

"Brilliant, I'm starved!" James said.

"That's hardly surprising," Owen said, "it's been a while since you ate anything. Once you've finished that, do you fancy a shower? It'll help soak that dressing off as your wounds leak a bit. If it's not soaked off, it'll pull on your stitches otherwise. We've got some spare clothes around here that should fit you well enough."

"Okay, yeah." James nodded.

"I'll walk you down and wait for you outside to make sure you're okay," Owen said.

"All right."

James showered and came out with a clean gown on. "I didn't think it was worth getting dressed if you're going to change the dressing - it would of just gotten all wet anyway."

"Oh yeah. Now come on, step into my lair." he smirked.

James just rolled his eyes and followed Owen into the med bay.

"Get on the bed and lay on your side," Owen said. "I think that will be the easiest way to do this."

James did, throwing Owen a slightly panicked look.

"You're going be okay," Owen assured him softly. "This might be a bit uncomfortable but I'll be as quick and gentle as I can."

James squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth as Owen put on fresh gloves and got on with changing the dressing.

James hissed in discomfort.

"Sorry. Sorry, I'm being as gentle as I can. Nearly done," Owen said.

James gulped. Owen finished and James slowly set up, leaning back on the bed. "The first one is the worst." Owen said. "I promise - it'll be much easier tomorrow, mate. I'm going to remove your IV, " Owen tossed the gloves that he'd been using and donned a fresh set.

"It wasn't too bad," James relaxed against the pillows and Owen removed the IV.

"Liar!" Owen smirked, removing the gloves and throwing them in the bin.

James grinned.

Owen turned his back while James got changed into the clothes that he had found for him.

"Hey, these aren't that bad," James said.

"Oi! We're not that old and uncool!" Owen chuckled. "If you're feeling up to it later, fancy going out and getting something to eat? I think tonight we can head home and get you settled at my place, What do you think?" Owen asked.

"That sounds great, I feel as if I've been cooped up a long time!" James said.


End file.
